


Counting by Threes

by nissawood



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: KPop AU, Multi, NCT Dream - Freeform, NCT U, kpop, kpop fan fictions, nct - Freeform, nct 127
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-18 15:36:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8167054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nissawood/pseuds/nissawood
Summary: They think I'm crazy for sure but I know I'm not. Or maybe crazy has some good in it.





	1. The Boy

The boy-

 

It's been an hour since noon. Noon was the exact time they took me here. The exact time my mother cried, but I did nothing.   
"He'll be ok Mrs. Huang." The strange man said. "We have an excellent facility with an acceptable team of nurses and counselors."

My mother hugged and me and whispered words into my ear, but I still did nothing. 

Then that man put me into a car. Nobody talked. 

 

I'm outside. There is a small stream just big enough to stand up in. My eyes focused on the grass under me. I didn't pay attention to what was around me. I didn't care. When the man took me out of the car he spoke to me. I had no intention of listening so I just stared at what was in front of me and looked at it the whole time he was talking. It was a pile of bricks. A big one. One you could walk inside. Before I knew it, the man was walking me into this pile of bricks and sat me down on a gray chair while he pulled out a folder with writing on it. It read my name Huang Renjun. He gave it to a strange lady that was busy. Shuffling other things around. I could see the wrinkles in her forehead shiver like they were outside naked in the winter.   
She spoke to the man softly not intended for me to hear. I looked around me. I wasn't alone. There was a boy 4 seats over. His eyes were focused on his hand he put in front of him. He had choppy blonde hair and bags under his eyes. He seemed older than me not by too much though.   
"Mr. Ji." I heard a peppy woman say.   
He did nothing so she walked over to him and gestured for him come with her. He slowly got up revealing how much taller he was. She looked deep into his eyes and held out her hand. He started walking slowly with her. They walked together in a very slow pace heading towards a door. It probably led to a hallway. And that hallway probably had a room where he belonged. I wonder where I will belong. All I know is I don't belong here. They think I do. They think I'm crazy for sure, but I know I'm not.   
"Huang." The woman spoke with a flat tone just blandly saying the letters as if they're bitter.   
My attention didn't change and she didn't repeat herself. Another woman came up to me. She held a clipboard which on it she was balancing a half eaten granola bar and a coloring book along with my papers. The ones that confirm I now belong here.   
"Hello! Renjun?"   
I slowly shifted my gaze to meet her face.   
"Come with me honey I'll get you situated."  
I got up and walked to her. She was a tall thin lady with obviously died from black to blonde hair which was in a tight ponytail and her smile looked like something off of a cartoon. 

She took me to a pair of doors that led to another hallway different than the one the other boy went in. It was quiet. Nothing but a muffled sound of a television. We turned down another hallway and I heard a scream.   
"Mama! No Mama they're taking me again! Mama help me please! Mama where are you Mama?"  
Before my eyes was a small boy that ran across the hallway in front of me with two nurses trailing behind him. The boy was crying and yelling in Chinese which I grew up learning. I understood him. He was yelling for his mother. His arms were out flailing in front of him as if he was pushing through something. The woman that was with me kept walking as if what I saw was normal. Maybe it was. 

She opened a door to a room. The first thing I noticed was that the room was painted green. An ugly soft green that looked like the peas a baby would throw up because his mother put to many in their mouth. That was my mother. A messy woman that didn't have enough will to fight for herself so she ended up with me. She was afraid. She's always been. This whole room reminded me of my child hood. In a corner there was an empty desk. In another corner was a small bed that had metal frames on it. That's all. Just like my room. Dull. 

The woman set down a coloring book on the empty desk and gestured for me to sit on the bed.   
"I have a coloring book for you. I find it soothes your mind. I'm your counselor Soonyoung. I hope we can build a strong relationship while your here." She smiled widely and took a bite of her granola bar. I looked up at her not changing my expression. 

"I know it's a little weird at first but I know you'll adjust." There was a pause. "Everyone does. I'm going to let you settle in ok? Dinner is in a couple hours and I will check back in with you a little before then to give you a tour of the place."   
Before she left she stopped.   
"Don't worry Rennie you'll be ok." She said in a high pitched voice you'd use with a puppy. 

When I heard the click of the door shut, I laid down on my back and covered my eyes with my cold hands. I don't belong here.


	2. The Boy Who Never Speaks

Julie-

I sat there on this bed in this room that isn't mine. It's nobody's. I started to think about my mother when I was 5. I remember my first day of school was similar to this feeling I have right now. My mother didn't want to wake up that morning so I had to walk there by myself to this strange green building. I knew where I was going for the most part since it was only two blocks away. When I got home that day my mother wasn't home. I was used to her leaving randomly especially when I was young. So I just sat my room and waited for her. That night she came home and she all she said to me was:  
"Call me Julie." 

And that was that. Yeah, Julie never really knew how to deal with things. 

 

The boy who never speaks-

My attention perked as I heard the door open. It was the women. 

"Are you hungry?" She asked me in that high pitched tone.   
I stared at her.   
"C'mon let me show you around your dormitories."   
I got up and walked to the door with the will of being starving.   
She walked me down the hallway speaking very clearly and slowly as if I was a child. We past many rooms. They were all closed except one. One was swung open. She kept walking but I stopped and looked inside. The room looked identical to the one I was in. Inside I saw a boy that sat by his window. Next to him was a man that was reading him a book. The boy didn't move. I must've been standing there for too long because the man stopped reading when he saw me.   
"Hello." He waved.   
"Winwin say hello to a friend." The man said looking at the boy. He didn't move. 

I walked away to catch up with the women that led me to a rather large room filled with boys and the big people in those blue outfits like the one the women next to me was wearing.   
"How about you sit," she pointed around the room with her eyes closed,"over there."   
She points to a red table that had only two boys sitting there. I decided to walk over to the table regardless if I was going to talk to the boys or not. 

I took a seat three seats away from them which is what I thought would be the best amount of space. They were talking about something in a serious tone. Maybe it was politics. The food on their tray was a pile of rice just big enough for a small child and a few pieces of beef and spicy pickles. None of it looked palatable to me so I just sat and put my head in my hands.   
"Hey. Hey kid."   
I looked up to see one of the boys leaning towards me.   
"What's your name?" The other boy asked who was as skinny as a straw.   
I looked back and forth between the two boys eyes. 

"Renjun. Huang Renjun." I said softly.   
"He speaks." One of the boys said shoving another bite of rice into his mouth.   
"I'm Mark. Mark Lee. That's Donghyuk but we call him Haechan."   
I nodded.   
"Why you in here Renjun Huang Renjun?"   
"Does that matter?" I asked. "It's Renjun. You can call me Renjun."   
"What difference will it make if you do tell me because listen kid we're all here because of something. I guarantee there are more than 15 other kids in here with the same exact problem as you." 

"I don't know."   
"You don't know?"  
"I don't want to talk about my personal information."  
" Ok jeez. I was just trying to make some light conversation in this damn place."

The truth is, I don't know why I'm in here. People say I have problems. Lots of them. The kind that make you go crazy and do something stupid. I'm not like others. I've always been like this. So maybe I was born what people call crazy. Maybe it's like my superpower. 

Time forward was silent. The two boys talked and I listened to my stomach rumble. I was so hungry. A bell rang for the end of dinner and all the boys got up and put their trays away. I had no idea where to go so I just followed everyone. They all went into different hallways some talking some not. I glanced at that boy Mark who was giving the other boy I forgot the name of a hug. They must be good friends. Mark than left him and started to go down the hallway I came from. He turned around and looked me up and down as if I was wearing a clown suit. 

"Your staying in here?" He said walking towards me.   
I nodded.   
"I'm room 216," He pointed to a door a few doors down from where we were standing,"If you um, ever want to stop by." 

For the first time in awhile a small smile formed on my face just enough for him to see. Mark turned around to go to him room but I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him.   
"What's your friends name again?" I asked quietly.   
He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. 

"Haechan." 

"What hallway is he in?" 

"Not this one." 

"Why?" 

"I thought you would never talk to me again but now your asking me all these questions." 

"You don't have to answer." 

"Sorry. Renjun right?"   
I nodded. 

"He has a different story than me. And you. Every one in here has a different story. See that room across the hallway?" He pointed to the room that held the boy I saw earlier.   
"That boy has been in here for about 3 weeks. I saw him get settled in myself. He never speaks."   
"Why is that?" I asked.   
"I don't know. Nobody does. He just sits there by his window all day. Probably doesn't eat too."   
"How long have you been in here?" I asked.   
He grinned and looked me in the eyes walking closer to me. 

"A year."   
He then walked to the room 216 and no further words were exchanged. 

A year.


	3. The Boys That Cried

The Silver Dress-

Julie didn't have many nice clothes. When I was 7 I came home from school to find her with a man in a sleek blue suit. He looked a bit older than her but he was tall and handsome and her eyes sparkled when she looked up at him. This man came around a lot and always scuffled my hair and gave me a pair of shoes once and awhile. Julie would always say were expensive and to never wear them at recess or they will get dirty. One day when I came home I heard music and she was dancing around our small house in a shiny tight silver dress. She looked like those skinny ladies that wore too much makeup on magazine covers. That's all Julie wanted to be I think. Later that night she got picked up by that man and without a word she went off. A week later I came home to a broken window and my mother screaming out mean words to the wall. With a bottle in her hand she came towards me and I all I remember was that I ran as fast as I could out our back door and jumped off the squeaky wooden porch that would give you splinters. She ran after me but she tripped and tumbled down ripping her dress and causing the bottle to explode with glass flying. 

 

The Boys That Cried

I opened my eyes abruptly to the noise of a door opening. 

"Morning!" It was the women.  
As I rubbed my eyes I heard the crinkling of plastic.  
"Here is what you'll wear around here. Open it!" She said as if it were Christmas. I stared at it trying to find my reflection in the plastic. It was for no particular reason but I didn't want to open it.  
"Do you not want to?" Her soft voice echoed in my ear.  
She took the clothes out of the plastic and put them on my lap.  
"There you go. Today you will get your schedule."  
I starred at the clothes in my lap.  
" You'll have breakfast in thirty minutes. After breakfast you will have a physical activity until counseling, then you will have lunch. After lunch you will take an independent study such as gardening, helping physically sick patients, or helping out in the library. In the library you can help other younger patients continue learning how to read and write even when they're in here. After that you will have some free time until dinner and then after dinner is bedtime. I know that was a lot of information so I have it on paper here."  
She set down a paper on the desk and sighed. 

"Do you like working here?" I asked her softly.  
She turned around abruptly to my words having them be my first ones she's ever heard of mine. 

"Excuse me?"  
The woman sighed and wiped her nose with a red handkerchief. She walked slowly to the door not saying anything.  
"Well, in some respect I like it. It depends." She said trying her best to smile. "Get dressed and take a look at your schedule. I'll see you later in the day." She slowly closed the door barley making a sound as it shut. I looked at the clothes again. I unfolded them to see I had a dark blue t shirt, a pair of tan kahki pants, and 2 pairs of black ankle socks. The clothes felt warm and clean. The cloths I wore made me cold and I've been in them for several days. Underneath the kahki pants was a soft flannel shirt and pants that matched in pattern. They felt warm and comforting on my skin. This is what I want to wear.  
I got up from my bed and saw on my desk a cup with a toothbrush and toothpaste in it. Next to the desk I saw a pair of brown and red sneakers. My mind went to the time when the man in the blue suit gave me new shoes. I looked down at my feet and stared at my old black shoes that were over worn and the heel part of the sole was starting to rip off enough to make a flapping sound when I walked. I looked at the paper the women gave me which had all the things she said to me written down. Breakfast is at 8:15. I looked to the clock on my bed side side table and it read 8:03. I then grabbed my flannel cloths and my shoes and went to the bathroom that was connected to my room.  
BI know I share this bathroom with 2 other boys but I've never seen them. I walked in to see a small blonde boy with his hands pressing on the sink counter and he sulked over his shoulders. He looked much younger than me. I went into a stall to change without him noticing. I then heard soft crying which must have been coming from the boy I just saw. I changed and walked out looking at the boy. He melted onto the floor and put his head in his hands. I walked over to him and sat down. He slowly looked over to me with a worried look in his teary eyes. He backed away from me crying as he hugged his knees until he hit the wall. I got up and walked away.  
What's with him?

 

I walked out of my room into the hallway which was empty. I looked up at the clock above me and it read 8:20. I could care less if I was late so I walked at my own pace trying to remember where the cafeteria was.  
As I waked in I looked for the table I sat at yesterday to see if Mark was there. Sure enough he was however I didn't see the other boy; Haechan I think.  
I sat down to see Mark staring at the wall of the room not acknowledging I sat down in front of him. I stared at the boy's tired looking eyes but there was no response.  
"Hey." I said tapping him on the shoulder.  
"Oh. Hi." He said still staring at the wall.  
"Where's you friend?" I asked.  
He shifted his gaze to my eyes. 

"Not here." He said looking back at the wall.  
"Oh. Why?"  
"Because."  
I looked at his untouched tray of food.  
"Are you hungry?"  
"No. You can have it." 

I took the tray because I figured I probably should eat something since I haven't eaten for two days. I glanced over at Mark once and awhile but his eyes didn't move from the wall. 

"They took him."  
I looked up.  
"What?"  
He finally looked at me.  
"To the Dungeon." He said crossing his arms.  
"Dungeon?"  
"It's what the kids call around here the place you go if your really messed up or about to die."  
"Oh. Why is it called the dungeon?"  
"Because it's terrible. Your ab-out to di-" His words stuttered and his hands shaked slightly.  
"Even if you don't die I hear you never get out." 

"Why is he in there?" I asked.  
Mark shook his head and forcefully stood up out of his seat. 

"Because he's dying! He's sick! Why do you have to know every little detail? He can't get better I tried to help him but he'll pretend he's better, but he's never better, and I can't see him just kill himself like this! Why is he doing this to himself. Why? I don't understand. He was the person that helped me. I remember I was 10 months in here just going insane and man you didn't know me back then but I sure was crazy. and one day he came and sat next to me and I- I just remember how sweet he was even though I sat alone and didn't respond to anything he said. He just talked to me. I didn't know why he sat next to me that day. I wanted nothing to do with him. But he smiled so big at me and he's the one that's really made me better. Two months ago I was a whole other person. But he's helped me so much and I don't know why. But he had something in him that just made me so happy. I love him Renjun." 

He buried his face into his arms. The boy cried so much. I did know what to say to him or what to do but I hate this place I'm in. I hate whatever this dungeon is too. 

I grabbed Marks hand that was wet from his tears. 

"C'mon lets go"  
"Where are we go-"  
"Somewhere that's not here" I said cutting him off.  
"Ok. But breakfast ends in 10 minutes so let's go somewhere where we can't be found." Mark said jumping in front of me grabbing my hand and walked slowly out of the cafeteria until we were out of sight and then we ran. My little legs trying to keep up and my free arm flailing behind me.  
We then heard a scream and Mark stopped running. 

"What's that?" I said reaching for breath to speak.  
"Let's go see." 

"He opened the door but stepped back as soon as we entered the room. 

There was a boy yelling and punching the wall with his fist. 

"I'm so stupid! I'm so stupid! I'm sorry papa! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry papa! I'm so sorry papa!"

The more I looked at him I recognized him. He had that blonde choppy hair that I saw the first day here in the lobby. The tall one.  
"I've seen him." I whispered into Marks ear. He didn't respond but just stared at the boy hitting the wall over and over again.  
"He's gonna break his fist! Let's get a nurse or something!" I said.  
Mark stood there still staring at the boy but I ran out of there. 

I looked through each door's window trying to find someone. 

"Hey!"  
I heard it behind me. I turned around to see a young looking man in one of the blue outfits. He ran up to me quickly. 

"Are you ok?"  
I shook my head and ran to the room that held the boy.  
I heard a small gasp from the nurse as he saw what was happening. He then ran over to the boy and grabbed him by the waist and held his arms back so the boy wasn't able to continue punching. His hand was bloody and bruised. The nurse was shaking in his arms as he held the boy. He pulled out a walkie-talkie type thing struggling to hold the boy down. 

"Hey, I got Hansol." The nurse said talking into the machine. " Yeah it's bad." 

I then felt two men pushing through Mark and I rushing over the the boy. They lifted him up by the arms and legs and pulled him out of the room; the boy still screaming. 

I looked at the nurse who put his hands over his eyes. He sat in the corner of the room and started to cry.  
Mark then grabbed my hand pulling me out of the room with my eyes fixed on the nurse as long as I could until we were out of the there. 

"He must've been new." Mark said walking away from the room.  
"New?"  
"Yeah in training. That kind of thing is really tough to deal with. I don't see why anyone would wanna work here."

I nodded.  
"Did you see the nurses name tag?" I asked.  
"Yeah I think so, I thought it was," he paused, "like Taeil." 

"Mark?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Why is Haechan sick?" 

He sighed.  
"Bulliemia."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really long chapter I hope you liked it though!


End file.
